Nitin Gadkari said the technology in its present form wasn’t suited for the Indian market and will also render millions of Indian drivers jobless.ET Bureau | July 25, 2017, 07:57 IST

India will not see driverless cars plying on its roads as Union minister for roads and transport Nitin Gadkari feels that his government would rather protect the jobs of millions of drivers here than see a technological marvel on the streets.

Bolstering his case, the minister said the technology in its present form wasn’t suited for the Indian market and will also render millions of Indian drivers jobless. Gadkari said the government was planning to launch a taxi booking app on the lines of Ola and Uber.

“Today, you see millions of jobs are being created in the transport market by truckers and taxi aggregators. Such technology will make millions jobless,” Gadkari told reporters.

“Maybe some years down the line we won’t be able to ignore it but, as of now… we shouldn’t allow it,” he said. “The government platform will help get more people employment opportunities. The idea is in the primary stage but we’re working on it seriously,” he said.

Globally, carmakers and technology companies including Tesla Motors, China’s Baidu, Google, Uber, Mercedes, Ford and General Motors are working on driverless cars, which are already being tested in cities across the world.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has pledged that he will produce a vehicle that will drive by itself from Los Angeles to New York by 2017-end.

Swedish automaker Volvo has formed a partnership with Uber to test driverless XC90s for ridesharing purposes. Uber tested its first fleet of driverless Volvo XC90s fitted with Uber software in Pittsburg last September. In India, Tata Elxsi, the Tata Group’s design and technology firm, has been working on driverless cars.